


Until The Last Turn

by Rakashith



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Formula 2 RPF, Formula 3 RPF, Formula 4 RPF
Genre: Gen, Racing, Slice of Life, Starting from the bottom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27605489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakashith/pseuds/Rakashith
Summary: Racing has always been a huge part in Andrea's life, and now he's going to take the first big step on his career... will he succeed at achieving his goal? Or will he fail and crumble under the pression? Well, to find out, you only have to read his tale...until the very last turn.
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, Rakashith here, and I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. This is my very first work, both on the internet and in real life, so please, if you have something to say please leave a comment with your thoughts, thank you.

Ever since I saw a race, I knew what I wanted to do when I was older.

Racing has always been in the top of my list when It came to think about “what to do when you’re older”,alongside my other passions (like soccer),which were very intriguing to follow, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how exiting must be driving a car at a circuit, racing against other people, and hear the people chant your and your team name!  
It all began when I first saw a F1 race; I remember that race very well, it was the day Micheal Schumacher won his last Championship-What a magic race that was! From that moment I began to watch various races from various types of motor-sports; from bikes (MotoGP,Superbike) to F1 (F2), to cars(Nascar). 

My passion didn't go unnoticed by my family(bless them), so I had the fortune to begin racing in karts at 8-9 years old, in the ACI Karting Italian Championship. My first races didn’t… exactly go as I hoped, since I didn’t collect many podiums or pole positions, but after adjusting to the kart,to the pressure that comes with racing, I managed to win the Championship and other karting titles over the years…

...And now, I stand in front of the greatest chance I ever had until now.

Honestly, I wish I had someone to talk to during these days. My passion for racing and videogames has always made me stand out in my class, and the other kids had other passions; add the fact that I’m not the most talkative and social person, and here I am, with many connections, but with no real friends. These days have been… a little hard, mostly because I was really anxious of this day, but at the same time exited.

From now on, everything that I do, will decide if I will follow my dream, or if I will just continue chasing it fruitlessly. Every race from now, I have to give my all, even more than that!  
This season must be the season where I show that I’m capable of being a Formula driver,this is the really important thing…

...With that thought in mind, I entered the Prema Powerteam facility.

“Welcome to the Prema Powerteam building! How may I help you?”


	2. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rakashith here, bringing you a new chapter on Andrea's journey, hope you all like it.

“Yes, hello ma’am, I’m…Andrea Rizzuto, I’m supposed to be the new driver for the F4 Team?”  
While saying this I pass to her my Identity Card.  
“Hmm? Yes, just let me check… Andrea Rizzuto, yes… Yes, I think everything is in order. Follow me, I’ll bring you to Mr.Rosin.” With that, she stands up from the desk, and brings me further inside the building. While she guides me through, we pass near various rooms; one of them I think is the one who brings into the factory itself, since I can hear sounds of various instruments being used against metal; as I thinks this, I realized that we are near the TP room. The secretary knocks on the door, and says “Mister Rosin? The new driver you were expecting has arrived.” “Thank you Sarah, let them in.” You hear the voice of the man who’s going to be your Team Principal, Angelo Rosin, inviting you in his room. You enter the room, with a bit of anxiety.  
“Good morning sir, pleasure to meet you.”  
“Good morning to you too, young man, it’s my pleasure to meet you too, I have to say I’m very interested in what you can do.”  
I blush a bit at this, not used to be complimented in a formal conversation like this…  
“O-Oh, I see…”  
He chuckles at my nerves “Being shy, uh? It’s not going to do you any good in this sport, boy.”  
I try to control myself, after all I know what he’s talking about; showing weakness in a cruel sport like this could easily be your downfall.  
“Sorry sir, just a bit nervous, it is after all my first day in such a huge and incredible team.”  
He nods and smiles a bit at my compliment ”Well thank you for your kind words boy, but let’s drop formalities, shall we? We are going to be together for at least a year after all. Call me simply Angelo. Or boss, if you’d like to be more formal. ”  
“Then I insist you call me Andrea, boss.”  
He chuckles a bit at show of formality “Alright then, follow me, I’ll take you to the factory and have you meet the team and the engineers, we’ll talk along the way.”  
I stayed up and hold the door open, waiting for him, when he passed through the door I began to follow him, already wondering about what he wanted to ask me.  
“So, why you want to be a driver? There surely are many other career paths you could have pursued.”  
I did think about doing something else, something that wasn’t as exhausting or as difficult…  
“Yes, I thought about doing something else… but after thinking about it for some time, I realized that driving, in any forms, is my real dream. I felt… drawn to this sport ever since I first watched a race, even though I didn’t even know what a car was.” I chuckle remembering those fond times. “I want to succeed, I want to leave a mark on this sport I so much love, I want to win for the person who will support me, the persons that will help me reach those successes.”  
Angelo stares at me for a bit, looking in my eyes, then after a bit he smiles, apparently happy with what he found:  
“Yes, I think that’s a good motivation, happy to hear it from someone as young as you. You need ambition to even think about succeeding in this sport, and it seems you got it in spades. Now, ready to see a cool thing?”  
While I was thinking and talking, we arrived at the door; it seems that I was right, as this is the door I thought would lead into the factory itself.  
I nod, and he opens the door.  
The first thing I could see is some engineers working on the cars, while others discuss lively about something. I was too far away to get what they were discussing about, but it seems it was an important topic…  
“Grazia! There you are, I got someone for you to meet!”  
While I think about that, I hear and see Angelo go and hug an old lady, and remembering the information I read online, I figure this person must be Grazia Troncon, the Team Manager of the F4 Prema Powerteam.  
“Angelo, good to see you out of your office for once! I guess such a special occasion is reserved for our new guy?”  
She says as she points at you, and Angelo laughs heartedly at her, and presents me “Yes, this will be our new driver; expect good things from him, from what I have seen, he’s going to do good here.”  
I blush at the praises, but I try to stay calm as much as I could; how I am supposed to make a good impression like this?!  
“A-ah, y-yes ma’am, my name’s Andrea, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” I stutter while giving a little bow, still blushing from before.  
“And one with manners, to boot! Well, you already are good in my books, kid.”  
I nod respectfully to the woman, trying to not let my embarrassment show, but I do make a fist pump mentally; seems like I still managed to do a good first impression, and that’s always better than anything, no?  
“Good thing you brought him here, we can get him used to the guys and to the facility in general, so he could help me with the new girl when she comes.”  
Oh, already? I thought she would talk to me for longer, but I like how direct she was, and I apparently already have a teamma-Wait what?  
“Girl? My teammate is a g-girl?”  
She nods “Yes, I’m sure you heard of the new project Ferrari is doing for their Academy.”  
‘They already have chosen the winner?!’ I thought in shock; I remember reading about the contest they were doing for picking a new female driver for the Academy, didn’t think it would end that fast!  
“Ah, yes I heard of it, just didn’t know they already picked the winner of the whole thing… though I’m happy that I will have a female teammate.” I am indeed very happy. I have grown used to racing and battling with male drivers, so having a female with and against is interesting, mostly because I’m curious at knowing what she would think about the racing and the team in general, and a female view will surely help the team; and who knows, she might bring something new to the races…  
“Oh, look at what you did, now you got him all excited…”  
I blush furiously at this.  
“E-e-excuse me! I must let you know that I respect woman with the utmost and deserve respect they deserve! I would never thought of a woman that way just because I heard of he-“  
A chorus of laughter stops my monologue, embarrassed because I let my nerves get the best of me.  
I see Grazia and Angelo laughing their ass off, apparently very happy, and I grumble a bit under my breath.  
“D-Don’t worry kid, I got that you’re not a lady man, don’t sweat it.”  
I can only blush more at the sole thought of that, eliciting more laughter. Seeing this, I could only mutter a deserved “Assholes… “  
“Well, now that we all have laughed at the expense of the new guy, as tradition tolds” I could only grumble more at that “I guess we can move along and… oh damn, it’s already this late?”  
Angelo says looking at his watch. I look at mine and realize that it’s already almost 8 PM. Sure, you arrived late because of all the travel you had to do; going from the very South of Italy to the very North requires some time, sure, but you didn’t expect to make it this late!  
“Well, since it’s already this late, we’ll do the complete meet & tour with the team tomorrow, be sure to be here early so we can have the time to properly announce you to everyone.” Angelo says, and I nod.  
“Got it boss, it’s been a pleasure Angelo, Grazia, I’ll be sure to be awake early. I bid you all goodnight then.”  
“Goodnight kid, and remember, up early.” Angelo reminds me.  
“Yes boss, got it, see you all tomorrow.”  
With that, I gave a little wave and I get out of the factory and head back to the entry. Arriving there, I nod in farewell to the secretary, who responds with a nod too, and I get out of the building; as I do that, I stand for some time in the sidewalk, thinking about all that happened today. ‘Today has been a very good day, I must say. Tomorrow, my career will really begin, and I can’t wait to show how motivated I am to do good.’  
With that thought in mind, I start walking back home, really satisfied by this day and a little anxious for tomorrow.


	3. A New Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, Rakashith here. First of all, Merry Christmas to all of you good people! I hope you can spend this day with your family, and i hope you have a beautiful and joyful day. With that said, I deeply apologise for not posting an update for a straight month, nor for keeping you updated on the progress of this chapter's making. I'll try to post once every 2 weeks, that much i promise to you. With that out of the way, i hope you all enjoy this next chapter.  
> And once again, Merry Christmas my dear readers!

‘Ugh, waking up at this hour is such a pain…’   
I thought while sipping my coffee and eating my breakfast. It was the morning after my presentation to Renè and Grazia, and I was still very sleepy, but excited after yesterday's events, and for what would happen today. I stayed up very late just replaying those moments in my head and daydreaming about what could come in the future. 

In hindsight… damn, it was a very poor decision. 

But nothing of that, time to get a move on; time doesn’t wait for anyone after all! After finishing breakfast, I got myself ready for the day. I decided to wear something simple but elegant, so I went for a black suit jacket with matching pants, with a dark red shirt underneath it, and with black boots. No tie because I didn’t want to seem the type of “guy who takes everything too seriously” … even though I may have already looked like that yesterday. 

With a tired sigh, I got out of my home to go to work; today should be the day I meet my new teammate. And she is a girl. A girl. I may not look like it, but I’M FREAKING OUT HERE! I got no experience whatsoever with girls, and I’m supposed to share a garage with one for. an. entire. YEAR? And maybe even more! How the hell am I supposed to behave in a situation like this?! 

...I already know that I will screw up in so many ways that even I couldn’t think possible…

With heavy thoughts and a bit of anxiety, I continued on my march to the workplace, actually hoping that I would be ready for my new teammate…

\--Some time later, just outside the building--

I am so not ready. I am so not ready. I am so not ready.

‘Okay, okay, breath in, breath out, repeat. Breathe in… Breathe out… Need to be calm to face things. Being anxious is not going to help my situation.’ While trying to calm myself by breathing, I gently opened the door of the building, immediately facing the receptionist, Sarah, who gave me a nod of welcome after seeing me. I stared at her for a short while, still lost in thought, before giving her a nod myself. 

Done that, I entered the building and headed straight for Angelo’s office, because I wanted some information on my teammate before meeting them; I would at least be prepared in a way, which I think it’s better than going into this (mostly likely) mess totally blind.

Arriving at the door, I could begin to hear some voices inside the office…

‘Oof, this must be her talking to Angelo…’

Exhaling a deep breath, I knocked on the door and asked permission to enter, to which I got a “Oh, Andrea you came just at the right time, come and meet the new arrival.”

At that, I opened the door, coming face to face to… well, fuck me, she’s gourgeous.  
What I see opening the door is a female of my age, maybe older than me by some months, taller than me by a few centimeters, I guess she’s… around 178 cm tall? Which is pretty unusual to see. She has shoulder-length reddish hair, which frames a rather round face that has a small nose and two big emerald eyes, and I begin to lower my eyes to see more…

...Before snapping to my senses to see that, yes everybody in the room was looking at me, Angelo with amusement (too much for my linking), my teammate with curiosity.  
After realizing that I still haven’t said a word and spent my entire time in that room staring, colour fills my cheek before bowing a little my head and say “G-Good morning.”

“Good morning Andrea. I see that you already have noticed our new guest.” Said Angelo with still too much amusement in his voice “Rita, this is Andrea, your new teammate.  
Andrea, this is Rita.”  
Rita (not a name that I’m familiar with…) holds out her hand in greeting.   
“You already heard my name from the boss, but I prefer presenting myself,if you don’t mind. I’m Rita Brausler, nice meeting you!”

‘Huh, she must be from Germany or from Austria, considering both the name and the surname…’ I store this consideration in my mind, quickly shaking her hand.  
“Andrea Rizzuto, it’s a real pleasure meeting you.” 

“Now come and sit, both of you.” Angelo says, he apparently has something important to say…  
“Seeing as both of you are here, I think I can discuss our objective with you two for the season coming. So, our objective is,obviously, to win both the Driver’s and the Team’s championship. And I think you already knew that when you decided to join this team” We both nod at this.  
“Good. Now, last season was, in a way, a failure for us. In the Italian F4 we were close to winning the Team’s championship but we didn’t succeed at the end. In the Driver’s we failed to secure our lead, so in this season I demand that we at least fight until the very end of season. You two will also compete in the ADAC F4; I won’t ask for many good results in that competition, I just ask you to be as competitive as possible, even though it will be difficult compared to the Italian Championship. You will use the same car in both of these competitions, so you don’t have to worry about changing cars after you become accustomed to these ones.”  
As soon as he stops,your teammate Rita holds her hand up “Sorry boss, can I ask something?”  
“Hmm? What is it Rita?”  
“I get that we can win the Driver’s championship… But how can we win the Team’s with only 2 drivers when most of the other teams have 3-4?

Huh, I honestly forgot about that fact. She’s right, how are we supposed to do that?

“We know that, and you may already meet some of them during next week. We just need to iron out some details.”  
“I see.” She seems content with that answer. Now that I think about it, I should ask when we can try and drive the cars…  
“Ehm,excuse me boss? If I may?”  
“Since she already asked one, go ahead.”  
“When will we be able to test the cars? When can we drive them?”  
“Around March-April, we will do the first tests on the track of Vallelunga for a couple of days, then we will move to the Autodrome of Monza for more tests. You two got all that? I hope so, because now you should move along and go to Grazia, the team must see if the current seats are comfortable to you. Andrea, I trust the introduction of Grazia to you, okay?”  
“Yes boss, don’t worry about it.”  
“Good, now go, the earlier you do these things, the better it is.”

We both nod and we get up, saying our farewells to the boss and exiting the office.  
Before I could say anything, she walks ahead of me and turns to me  
“So, since you apparently already know how to move around this place, why don't you lead the way?” She says while smirking.  
“Well, it’s not like i already know everything about this place, I got here yesterday…”  
“Still better than me, no? Now, Angelo said that we should not be late, and we don’t want to keep the lady waiting, do we?” She adds this with a little smile on her lips…  
“...Well then, this way.” From that little conversation, I can already guess that this year is already going to be a very embarrassing one for me…"


	4. Getting to know each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, Rakashith once again here. Hope this first week of the year has been kind to you, even though this year certainly didn't start in the best way possible. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter of UTLT. And please, write a review if you have anything to say about this chapter and the work in general.

“So,” I begin taking a bite off my burger.  
“Did you grow up in Germany, or..?”  
“Yes, born and raised, and I’m proud of that!” She exclaims loudly with a grin on her face.  
We were both using our lunch break to eat something unhealthy but sinfully good at a nearby Burger King, and since we were there we decided to use the time to ask the other one about themself.  
“What about you?”  
“Hmm? Oh, I was too born and raised here… well not here here, I was born actually in the South- you get what i’m trying to say.”  
“Yeah yeah, but please continue, you’re very fun and cute when you do that!”   
  
_Andrea.exe has stopped working. Please wait until the system has rebooted...  
  
_ She giggles with a mischievous glint in her eyes at my very bright face, while my mind was a screaming mess that was trying to reboot itself unsuccessfully, so i said the first thing that came to mind so i could at least try to compose myself “F-F-From what your passion for F1 originated from?!” I say rapidly without pausing. To that, her eyes suddenly have both a nostalgic and an excited glint. ...That honestly worries me, I'll be honest.  
“Oh! It actually is a family thing! You probably don’t know, but my whole family has been in the F1 business since the beginning! Well, not all of them of course, but a great majority of my family have been engineers of various F1 teams, even the most famous ones! One of my cousin’s grandfather was an engineer of Alberto Ascari! Oh, and one of my distant cousins is one of Hamilton’s engineers, and an important one from what they told me! And then…” She then proceeds to ramble about all of her relatives and with whom they worked with,while I am just standing there baffled by this wall of information crashing suddenly into me.

She suddenly stops, looking at her meal with a strange look…”Ehm, Rita are you...are you okay?” I ask, worried by her sudden stop,confused by her behaviour.  
“My father was the engineer of Michael Schumacher.” ...Ah.  
“I even met him once, can you believe it? He and my father used to be really close, my father followed him everywhere he went,since when he first started, stopping when he too stopped, and returning when he too returned… those two treated each other like family…” Damn, now I feel like an asshole.  
"Oh… I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked-"  
"No no, you couldn't have possibly known… Sorry it's just that… I get a little emotional when thinking about it…" She sniffles and gently wipes her nose with a handkerchief. Her family must have been hurt really bad by that incident…  
"Anyway, what is your motivation?" I will admit, I'm really curious about her family work past, and of her experience with Schumacher… but since she's clearly uncomfortable, I guess I will hold my curiosity for another time.  
"Well, I've always been fascinated by cars, races in particular." I begin, remembering the first race I saw…  
"After I saw for the first time a race, I instantly fell in love with the whole thing.  
Ever since that moment, I knew that what I wanted to do was to get into a car to drive it as best and as fast as I could. In that moment, I decided that I will become one of the best drivers ever. "  
"Hmm?"She perks up at my last sentence.  
" One of the best? Why not the best? Why not aim for the highest prize?"  
She asks a good question ,the highest prize is the highest one for a reason. But that is…  
"That is…that is because I don't care about being the best. I started to do all this mostly because I want to have fun. I don't care about being the best of the best,but I want to leave something behind. All I care about is having fun and doing the best I can, so I can leave my mark in the history books, that's my goal. To leave a mark in history, to say ‘Andrea Rizzuto has done this’.So that I can say that I have done this. That is my goal, and I won't stop at anything to achieve it."

" Well then." I was suddenly aware again of my surroundings thanks to her speaking, not realizing I fell into my own little world while telling her my motivation.  
" Guess that we will be sort of rivals then. After all, I have the blood of the winner in me, and I cannot do worse than that in respect of my father and my idol,and as such, I can't do anything short of being the best that has ever been.So, I challenge you,my Teammate: may the best one win gracefully." She finishes with a smirk.  
A challenge? Already? And here I thought that our friendship was going well….at least she is not broody anymore, so improvement I guess. I looked at the hand she stuck out for a shake.  
"Well… As one with the same idol, I can't pass on such a declaration of challenge." I shook her hand vigorously. Her smirk blossoms into a full-teeth grin,and I must say… It is actually pretty terrifying.  
"May the best one win, and I hope both of us grow stronger from this friendly rivalry."  
While we were doing this, a waiter came to our table." Excuse me sirs," We both turn our head at the newcomer. "I'm sorry sirs, but I must ask you to lower your volume…you're making quite the ruckus."  
… With that, we both noticed that all the persons in the diner were looking at our table in clear amusement, irritation, or simply curiosity.  
Embarrassment in our face, we finished the last of our menus as quickly as we could, getting up and exclaiming-both of us crimson red in the face- a "sorry" to the whole diner,quickly making our exit from it.

Once out, we both took a deep breath to calm ourselves, then we slowly looked at each other.  
“...We shall never speak of this again.Agreed?”  
“...Agreed.”  
With a nod we both decided that that incident before _never happened_.

“Anyway, we should get back to the factory.” With a sigh I realise that our lunch break was almost over, and that we got just enough time to get back.  
“Already?! Ugh, i thought we had more time… “ I guess she wanted more time to fool around, not that I have anything against that, since I wanted to do that also.  
We begin to march towards the facility, talking about lighter stuff, like our hobbies or what we do when we get bored, neither of us wanting to talk about what happened in the diner.

_\--Later that night--_

_“Finally home!”_  
Today was a busy day, as such the first I did when back at home was to literally throw myself in my bed. Everything is going good; Rita and I both did the seat test and regulated them so we were comfortable, I'm beginning to know and getting along with the team, and I've already made my first….friend?

… I honestly don't know if that was her way to say “We are friends now!”. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into the lines and she only meant that we are rivals.

Really hope it’s the former.

Guess I'll find out as time goes on, don’t have a reason to keep thinking about it too much.  
For the rest, I still have to see: the team isn’t complete yet, still haven’t tried the car, and it is only the mid of January. There is a long way to go until the first tests… Better enjoy this time.


End file.
